U.K. Economy Cuts Bank of England Less Slack

A Strong Recovery Could Test the Central Bank

The first phase of the Bank of England's interest-rate guidance, which generated much skepticism in markets, can formally be laid to rest. With most U.K. economic data looking remarkably strong, phase two is also starting to look questionable.

Unemployment in the three months to February fell to 6.9%, breaching the 7% threshold above which the BOE had pledged not even to think about raising rates from a historically low 0.5%. When the BOE first made that pledge last August, with unemployment at 7.8%, it predicted the...